Garment side closure



A ril 25, 1944. v c. e. LEUBRIE GARMENT SIDE CLOSURE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 30, 1943 IHHHH IH mm W A Eb R Z. IL A G m .nJ w 0 C April 25 1944. c. G. LEUBRIE GARMENT SIDE CLOSURE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 30, 1943 IN VEN TOR.

Courinne G L eubife BY A rromgy Patented Apr. 25, 1944 UNITED STATES?ATENT OFFICE GARMENT SIDE CLOSURE Courinne G. Leubrie, New York, N. Y., assigncr to Leopold Frank, New York, N. Y.

Application January 30, 1943, Serial No. 474,078

7 Claims. (01. 2-235) This invention relates to womens garments having side closures and particularly to buttoned side closures.

In view of the present scarcity of slide operated interlocking fasteners, snap fasteners, and the like metallic securing means, resort must now be had to buttoned closures for the sides, drop seats, and other parts of garments. Such buttoned closures, particularly at the sides of garments are apt to bulge in an unsightly and otherwise undesirable manner between the buttons thereof on movement of the wearer and otherwise, thereby detracting from the good appearance and fit of the garment at the closure.

My invention therefore contemplates the provision of a buttoned side closure for the waist and hip parts of a garment, said closure being usuable with or without a pocket and comprising overlapping parts out and shaped so as to fit the hips of the wearer without bulging.

The invention further contemplates the provision of a buttoned side closure combined with either a pocket or a drop seat or combined with both and therefore desirably and conveniently applicable to womens slacks, skirts and coveralls.

The invention further contemplates the provision of a simple, efficient, economically manufactured and well fitting side button closure, easily opened and closed, enhancing the good appearance of the garment to which it is applied and pe- The various objects of the invention will be clear from the description which follows and from the drawings, in which,

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the front and part of the back of a pair of womens slacks having front pockets and a drop seat and to which the invention has been applied, one side of the closure being shown unbuttoned.

Fig. 2 is a similar view of the back of the same showing the seat dropped'and the supporting waist band in place.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of a skirt partly opened and to one side of which a slightly modified form of the invention has been applied, the dash-dot lines showing the closed position of the closure flap.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary horizontal section of the closure of Figs. 1 and 2 taken at the lower part of the pocket and showing the parts unbuttoned.

Fig. 5 is a similar section taken at the lower part of the closure of Figs. 3, 6 or 7.

Fig. '6 is a fragmentary enlarged side view of another slightly modified form of the closure, the buttons being arranged in the interior of the pocket.

Fig. '7 is a front view of womens coveralls to which the invention has been applied and showing one side unbuttoned. 1

Fig. 8 is a rear view of the seat dropped.

In the practical embodiment of the invention shown by way of example and referring to Figs. 1 and 2 wherein a pair of womens slacks is shown, the opening 10 in the front panel l l is made forwardly of the usual side seam [2 of the garment and may be utilized as the entrance to the pocket 13 where such pocket is employed, or said opening It) may merely constitute a substantially Ion-- gitudinal slit in the side part of the front panel. Adjacent the ends of the openings and spaced in-- wardly and forwardly of said ends are the button holes [4, 'l 5 adapted to receive the respective butsame, showing the tons l6, IT on the rear face of the side flap: is

constituting a forward extension of the rear panel I9. To permit the rear panel to be used as a drop seat, each side of the garment is made with one of the side closures now being described.

The front panel I 1 extends rearwardly past the side seam l2, terminating in a free edge 26 extending downwardly from the waist band 2! to the upper end 22 of the seam I2. When not buttoned to the rear panel or otherwise supported, the front panel is unsupported and may drop. To hold up the front panel when the garment is being worn, the waist band 2| terminates at one end at the edge 20, but has an unsecured rear extension extending around the waist past the corresponding edge 20' at the other side of the front panel to terminate in a free end '23 provided with the button hole 24. 7 When the free end is buttoned on to the button 25 at the front end of the waist band and adjacent and forwardly of the edge 20, the front panel is held up on the body independently of the rear panel, and said rear panel forms a convenient drop seat. No fly or opening need therefore be provided on the front panel, which may be closed'by the middle seam 26, thereby providing a garmet peculiarly suitable for women. The waist band 21 at the top of therear panel (Fig. 2) is provided with end button holes 28, 29 and a middle button hole 30 quickly and easily engageable with and detachable from the respective buttons 3|, 25 and 32 on the outer face of the waist band 2|. It will be understood that said waist band remains in place about the wearer when the rear panel or seat is dropped into the position of Fig. 2 and that the end button hole as 29 of the drop seat is preferably buttoned on to the said button 25 which secures the free end 23 of the waist band 2| in place.

The construction of the flap l8 forms an important feature of the invention. The flap is made of lesser height than that of the pocket opening so as to fit easily and without binding through the opening or slit l and substantially to overlap the side edge portion of the front panel. It extends forwardly and into the pocket or slit sufliciently to permit easy engagement of the buttons l6, l1 thereof with the button holes l4, l5, the buttons in this form of the invention being visible at the front (Fig. 1) and having an ornamental as well as useful function.

To enable the flap to lie snugly against the body and to eliminate the unsightly bulges which are otherwise apt to form at the flap and opening, which bulges are also apt to catch on extraneous objects or in machinery when the garment is worn in a factory, the upper and lower side edge portions of the rear panel above and below the flap are cut away as at the edges 33 and 34 to form the projecting tab 35 at the top side portion of the rear panel and to form a concavely curved edge below the flap. Said curved edge 34 serves to eliminate any material which might engage and bind against the edge parts of the opening and result in bulges, and is also stretched to lie snugly against the body when the flap is buttoned. The stress put upon the rear panel by the body of the wearer, even when not accentuated by body movement, is transmitted through the buttons I6, I! to the front panel, so that all of the parts are firmly held or pulled toward the body to prevent bulging, and the concavely curved edge 34 being also in the line of stress, a snug fit is thus obtained and excess material likely to catch inated.

As has been indicated, the opening It! may be used as the entrance to the pocket Hi. In that case, the upper part of the pocket may be stitched to the lower edge of the waist band 2! and the two sheets forming the front and rear faces of the pocket may be stitched together except at the opening Where one sheet is secured to the material on one side of the opening and the other sheet to the material on the other side of the opening. Where the button holes for the button holes l6, I! are made in the front panel as in Figs. 1, 2 and 4, the distance between the buttons is sufficient to allow the user to insert her hand easily between the buttons, and the pocket is substantially longer than said distance to allow for the space taken up by the buttons. Should it be desired to conceal the buttons, or to permit the full height of the pocket to be utilized, then the buttons may be secured to the front sheet of the pocket for concealing them, or to the rear sheet of the pocket for concealment and also to free the entire opening, and the button holes may be made in the flap as will be more fully explained hereinafter.

Referring now to Fig. 3, the invention is there shown applied to a skirt having the closure at one side only, said side being either the left or the right as may be found convenient, and in connection with a pocket, no drop seat being there necessary. It will be understood that the pocket may also be omitted if desired as explfiinedabove.

The closure is however, substantially of the same construction as herembeiore described; If the on obstructions is elim-' buttons are to be visible, they are arranged on the flap as shown in Fig. l. The rear panel 40 is secured to the waist band 4| and terminates in the forwardly extending flap 42 and the waist tab 43. As shown, the buttons are concealed, so that the flap is provided with the button holes 44, 45 and the tab 43 with the button hole 46. Said button holes engage the buttons 47, 48 and 49 respectively. The buttons 41 and 48 may be secured to the rear face of the material of the pocket 53 or of the front panel 39 forwardly of the opening 50, or if desired, said buttons may be secured instead to the front face of the rear pocket sheet 54, or to the front face of any material behind the front panel and accessible through the opening if there is no pocket. In either case, the buttons are not visible at the front. In the former case, the effective height of the pocket is restricted to the distance between the buttons 41, 48. In the latter case, as will be seen from Figs. 5 and 6, the effective height of the pocket is not so restricted by the buttons.

The flap 42, similarly to the flap [8 previously described, is cut away concavely above and below the button holes or buttons thereon, as the case may be, as at 5| and 52, to prevent contact of the edge material with the ends of the pocket. or opening, thereby to prevent the formation ofbulges or loose material outstanding away fromthe body, and also to take and to transmit stress put upon the rear part of the garment to the.

front part thereof. By unbuttoning the three buttons 41, 48 and 49 the closure is readily opened. permitting the skirt to be slipped off. In putting on the skirt, it is quickly secured in place by buttoning said buttons after the end of the flap 42 has been inserted into the opening 50.

In the application of the invention to cover-' alls (Figs. '1 and 8), some additional modification is desirable. For example, it is advisable to provide both a drop seat and pockets in such garments and hence the closure is applied to both sides of the garment. However, the upper or jacket part 55 of the coveralls holds the garment up when the drop seat 56 is unbuttoned, and therefore the rear portion 51 of the waist band between the jacket part and the trouser part 58 takes the place of the rear portion of the waist band ll] of Figs. 1 and 2 and of the waist band 4| of Fig. 3. In order to permit the garment to be put on easily, the front jacket opening 59 is continued into the front panel to form the fly 60 terminating above the crotch BI and buttoned by the concealed buttons 62, 63. Said buttons are secured to the rear face of the front middle edge of the jacket part or to a fly or flap in a manner which is well known and need not be shown nor described in detail, thereby preventing the thus concealed buttons from catching or being pulled into moving machinery when the wearer is at work.

Two side buttons 64 and 65 on the front side part of the waist band engage the end button holesBfi, B1 on the waist band 68 of the drop seat, while the middle back button 69 engages the middle button hole 10 of the waist band when the seat is up. Preferably, the buttons H, 12 for each flap 15 are in the positions shown in Figs. 5 and 6, that is, they are on the front face of the rear pocket-forming sheet 13. The front panel 18 of the garment and the rear sheet 13 may together form the pocket without an additional sheet, in which case said rear sheet 13 is stitched directly to the frontpanel by the stitching l4,

since it is immaterial in this form of garment that the stitching would be visible at the front,

The flap l enters the opening 1.9 of the pocket 80, To drop the seat, seven buttons are unbuttoned, namely, the waist band buttons 64, 65 and 69 are unbuttoned from the drop seat button holes 66, 61 and 1.0 and the two sets of flap buttons H, 12 are unbuttoned from the button holes 16, ll of the flaps 15, thereby permitting the wearer to attend to her needs quickly without removing the coveralls or unbuttoning the jacket part and without disturbing any garment worn underneath the coveralls and above the waist or at the front. When the drop seat is up, the only three buttons exposed are arranged at the waist band where they are not likely to catch upon extraneous objects.

It will be seen that I have provided a simple but efficient closure peculiarly suitable for womens garments such as slacks, skirts and coveralls, using available buttons instead of scarce metallic fasteners, adapted for economical manufacture and permitting a snug fit at the hips, waistline and back and thereby avoiding protuberances and bulges of loose material likely to catch on outside objects, and that I have provided a garment and closure therefor Well designed to meet the severe requirements of practical use.

Various changes in the specific forms of the invention shown and described are contemplated and have been in part above indicated, such changes being within the scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. In a garment, a front panel, a front waist band on the panel, a rear panel, a rear waist band on the rear panel, a side seam joining the panels and terminating at a point in substantial downward spaced relation to the waist bands to permit complete detachment of said panels from each other and upwardly from the side seams at the side of the garment, the front panel having a sub stantially upright and longitudinal opening therein between the top of said side seam and the front waist band. a side extension on the front panel extending rearwardly past the side seam and past said opening, a two-ply pocket having a side opening therein arranged at the opening of the front panel, the side edge of the rear ply of the pocket being secured to the side extension and the side edge of the front ply being secured to the front panel at the opening thereof, a form-fitting and stress-transmitting flap on the side edge of the rear panel extending forwardly past said side seam and of lesser height than the height of said opening in the front panel entering said opening when the garment is worn, concavely curved edges on said side edge of the rear panel above and below the flap, the lower of said curved edges extending to the side seam and the upper of said curved edges extending to the rear waist band to provide a projecting terminal tab on the rear waist band, a cooperating button and button hole connection on the adjacent ends of the waist bands to secure the ends of the waist bands together, and cooperating button and button hole connections carried by the flap and the front panel to button the flap on to and in overlapping relation to said side extension of the front panel with the end of the flap concealed within said opening. said flap conforming to the shape of the wearer's hip and transmitting stresses from the front panel to the rear panel and from the rear panel to the front panel.

2. In a garment having a buttoned side closure, a front panel having a longitudinal slit Ill therein, arear panelfterminating'in a side flap entering the slit when the closure is buttoned, cooperating buttonand 'button hole connections carried by the flap and the front panel to transmit stresses therebetween on movement of the wearer and to secure part of the flap outside of and in contact with the front panel and the remainder of said flap in the interior of the slit, the lower side edge part of the rear panel below the flap being concavely recessed, and thereby preventing bulging of the material on both sides of the slit, and means for detachably securing the adjacent upper edge parts of the panels together.

3. In a garment having a buttoned side closure, a front panel having a pocket provided with an opening in said panel, a rear panel terminating in a forwardly projecting side fiap, a concave recessed lower edge extending inwardly from the lower part of the flap, a recessed edge part above the flap forming a waist band tab at the end of the upper edge of the rear panel, means for detachably securing the projecting portion of the flap within the pocket comprising coopcrating button and button hole connections carried by the flap and the pocket, and means for detachably securing the tab to the adjacent upper edge portion of the front panel.

. 4. In a garment having a buttoned side closure, a front panel having at waist band extending completely around the garment and having a detachable end, a separable connection between said detachable end and a point of the waist band above said front panel whereby said waist band supports the front panel, a rear panel constituting a drop seat, button and button hole means for detachably connecting the top of the rear panel to the waist band, and means for detachably securing the sides of the panels together comprising a pocket on the front panel having a side opening through the front panel and stitched to the waistband, a forwardly projecting flap on the side edge of the rear panel and in downward spaced relation to the waistband normally inserted into the interior of the pocket and of lesser height than the opening, and cooperating button and button hole securing means on the flap and the pocket.

" 5. In a garment having a buttoned side closure, a front panel having a waist band extending completely around the garment and having a detachable end, a separable connection between said detachable end and a point of the waist band above the front panel, a rear panel constituting a drop seat, button and button hole means for detachably connecting the top of the rear panel to the waist band, the front panel having a longitudinal opening therein in forward spaced relation to the side edge thereof, a flap extending forwardly at the side of the rear panel and of substantially the length of the opening to enter the opening, the side of the rear panel being recessed above and below the opening to eliminate bulging of the flap and of the edges of the opening, and cooperating button and button hole securing means carried by the flap and by a part of the front panel and spaced forwardly of the opening.

6. In a bifurcated woman's garment, a front panel, a pair of spaced pockets on the panel each having a substantially longitudinal entrance opening arranged forwardly of the adjacent side edge of the panel, a rear panel constituting a drop seat, means for supporting the front panel independently of the rear panel, button and button hole securing means for supporting the upper edge of the rear panel, and buttoned side closure means at each sideof the garment extending downwardly from the waist line of the garment, said means comprising a flap extending forwardly from each side edge of the rear panel and of sufiicient length to enter the pocket through said entrance opening and to lie snugly against the adjacent hip of the wearer, and a button and button hole connection on the end portion of each flap and on the adjacent pocket, the height of said flap being less than the height of said entrance opening, and the side edges of said rear panel above and below the flap being concavely recessed to provide a tab above the flap and a cut-out part below the flap.

7. In a womans bifurcated garment, a front panel closed at its middle and having a pair of spaced pockets each having a substantially longitudinal entrance opening, arranged forwardly of the adjacent side edge of the panel, a waist band connected to the upper edge of the panel and having a free extension terminating in an end portion, means detachably securing the end portion to a point on the secured part of the waist band whereby the front panel is supported by the waist band independently of the remainder of the garment, a rear panel closed at its middle and constituting a drop seat, cooperating button and button hole means at the top of the rear panel and the rear extension of the waist band for detachably supporting the rear panel, and side closure means at each side of the garment, said closure means comprising a pair of spaced recesses in each of the side edge portions of the rear panel, a flap extending forwardly from each side edge of the rear panelbetween the recesses and of sufficient length to enter the pocket through said entrance opening, and a button and button hole connection on the end portion of each flap and on the adjacent part of the front panel, the height of each flap being less than that of said entrance opening.

COURINNE G. LEUBRIE. 

